I wonder what the real reason behind washing a dead person is.

- I wonder what the real reason behind washing a dead person is.

Dear Brother / Sister,

The real reason why dead bodies are washed is that it is Allah’s order and it shows the value Islam gives to man. It does not fit to put the dead body of man, who was created as the vicegerent on earth, like carrion under the ground randomly. It is an indication of respect to wash the people who made wudu and ghusl fulfilling Allah’s order when they were alive when they die, by sending them to Allah in a clean way.   

It is fard al-kifayah for Muslims to wash and enshroud the dead body of a believer, to perform his janazah prayer and to bury him. When this duty is performed by one or more Muslims, the other Muslims will be relieved of the responsibility. However, if nobody fulfils this duty, all Muslims will be responsible.

It existed in the shari’ah of the previous ummahs to wash and enshroud the dead body, to perform his janazah prayer and to bury him. According to what is reported from Ubayy b. Kab (d.21/642), when Hz. Adam died, the angels came with the shroud and scents they brought from Paradise; they washed and enshrouded him and spread some nice scent. Then, they performed his janazah prayer and placed him in the grave they had prepared; then, they covered it with mud-brick and leveled it with soil. After fulfilling this duty, they addressed Hz. Adam’s sons as follows:

"O sons of Adam! What we did is your shari’ah, which is your Sunnah. Do the funeral ceremony and the burial of your dead people from now on as you have seen us do it."

All dead people have been buried like that in all heavenly religions since Hz. Adam.
As a matter of fact, the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), the prophet of Islam, the last heavenly religion, stated that it was one of the duties of the Muslims to wash the dead body of a believer; he showed them how to do it and ordered them to do it like that when a believer died. All of the mujtahid imams agreed unanimously that it is fard al-kifayah to wash and bury the body of a dead Muslim and to perform his janazah prayer upon this order of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh). 

We take refuge in Allah from entering into his presence with washed bodies but with spirits that have not been washed with repentance and forgiveness, in a state that is materially clean but spiritually dirty.

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